![\"Henry](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/henry-and-melanie-Barton-425.jpg\")
Henry Barton ’84 and Melanie Dodd Barton ’84.<\/p><\/div>\n
Their backgrounds set the stage for how they would make decisions on giving decades later. Henry, a Greenville, South Carolina, native and political science graduate, comes from a long line of Furman alumni, including his father, grandfather, great aunt, uncle and many cousins. Political science and history alumna Melanie, on the other hand, is a first-generation graduate from Alpharetta, Georgia. Their children \u2013 Chandler and Hannah \u2013 graduated Furman in 2013 and 2018, respectively. Chandler married Elizabeth Koppang, who graduated in 2013.<\/p>\n
The Furman Advantage framework as it\u2019s known today didn\u2019t exist in the mid-80s, but elements of it did, such as study away and a chance to have meaningful relationships with professors.<\/p>\n
Henry remembers having spirited discussions with Professor Emeritus of Political Science Don Aiesi and Don Gordon, professor of political science and executive director of The Riley Institute, who encouraged Henry to take an internship through the Washington Center in D.C. \u2013 a post that would have life-long repercussions, both personally and professionally.<\/p>\n
Melanie also participated in a Washington Center internship, and that\u2019s how the two met. They became engaged after a Bell Tower proposal by Henry in 1986 and married in 1987.<\/p>\n
The Capitol Hill internship also informed Henry\u2019s later foray into political life as he served Congressman Carroll A. Campbell, Jr., who became governor of South Carolina. Later, after working as a utility lobbyist, Henry launched his own consulting firm focusing on utility and renewable energy issues.<\/p>\n
On the advice of William Montgomery Burnett Professor of History Marian Strobel, Melanie pursued a master\u2019s in public policy analysis at Duke University. After graduating in 1986, she moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where she has worked in education policy for the S.C. General Assembly and now for Gov. Henry McMaster.<\/p>\n
Her desire to help first-generation students and others with financial need at Furman meshes with her work ambitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdvancing educational opportunities is my career and passion for all children, but especially for children who must overcome significant financial barriers to achieve their personal educational goals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Together, the Bartons hope their gift will be transformational.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope our long-term investment will transform the personal and professional trajectory of students for years to come, just like the Furman experience changed us,” said Henry. “We look forward to meeting the scholarship recipients whose lives will enrich and bless ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
You could say Chairman P. Edwin Good, now in his 14th\u00a0year on the Furman Board of Trustees, is a fixture on campus. You\u2019d also be correct in saying the 1967 Furman history major and his wife, former board member and French alumna Peggy Ellison Good \u201967, are committed to a life of giving in terms of their time, talent and financial resources.<\/p>\n
![\"Edwin](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ed-good-trustee-shot-400.jpg\")
P. Edwin Good ’67.<\/p><\/div>\n
Ed\u2019s service to the Greenville Community \u2013 about 40 years \u2013 is marked by his more than 15 years on the board at Hollingsworth Funds, a major Furman University benefactor, and scores of other governing bodies dedicated mostly to children, education and social services concerns.<\/p>\n
For Furman, Ed and Peggy have served as class agents for fundraising and have been heavily involved in reunion activities. Ed also served many years on the Paladin Club board and on the Furman Advisory Council.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ed-and-peggy-good-cropped.jpg\")
P. Edwin Good ’67 and Peggy Ellison Good ’67.<\/p><\/div>\n
The two met as freshmen in a French class at Furman. They married in 1966 during their senior year then went to graduate school at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where they both earned Master of Arts in Teaching degrees.<\/p>\n
As freshly minted educators, they taught school in Charlotte, North Carolina, and in Rome, Georgia, before returning to the home of their alma mater in 1971, when Ed took a position in Furman’s development office as director of alumni programs for a couple of years.<\/p>\n
Successful ventures in commercial real estate financing, then commercial real estate development came next for Ed, founder of Hampton Development Company.<\/p>\n
But it was Ed\u2019s time in Furman’s development office that led to so many board seats.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople heard I was involved in the fundraising business, so they thought, \u2018Hey, this guy would be a great board member or a great committee member, because he\u2019s actually raised some money and he\u2019s not afraid of it,\u2019\u201d Ed said, laughing.<\/p>\n
Except that now and in years past, he and Peggy are the ones doing the giving.<\/p>\n
Their most recent gift isn\u2019t fully fleshed out, said Ed, but he expects half will go toward funding campus operations and the remaining half will probably be for student financial aid.<\/p>\n
Multiple financial contributions from the Goods over the years have bolstered the Cothran Center for Vocational Reflection, the James B. Duke Library, the tennis program and others.<\/p>\n
But for all their generosity, the Goods remain humble.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve tried to do what we could,” said Ed. “We think Furman does a great job. We think people who finish Furman have a good experience and come out caring about others and wanting to serve.”<\/p>\n
He applauds the Heller Service Corps, the Cothran Center and other campus organizations that provide outlets for social good.<\/p>\n
Parents of three sons who graduated Furman in 1993, 1996 and 1997, the Goods continue to believe in Furman\u2019s approach, especially what they see in The Furman Advantage and its deliberate focus on study away, mentorship and undergraduate research opportunities for students.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou read about these young alumni and how they\u2019ve done great things,” said Ed. “It\u2019s obvious to us that Furman is making a difference in the world, and that\u2019s something we want to support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furman President Elizabeth Davis and First Gentleman Charles Davis are longtime supporters of higher education. Their latest and most substantial gift ever comes amid a pandemic that has turned academe and just about everything else on its head. But despite the uncertainty, or maybe because of it, they are even more committed to helping deliver the rich Furman experience to \u201cany student who wants it,\u201d Elizabeth says, \u201cbecause we truly believe in what Furman has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"family](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Davis-family-photo-graduation-2019-400.jpg\")